Bexley Council's Planning Committee has approved plans for a new community and learning centre at 9 Brampton Road, Bexleyheath, bringing a long-vacant building back into use.
The decision, made on Thursday 23 July 2026, allows for the change of use of the building from its previous educational facility status to a mixed-use centre. This new centre will incorporate flexible educational and training rooms, community use including a church, and an ancillary cafe.
The building had been largely vacant since 2017. While the application stated its historical use was as an educational facility, a local resident contested this, claiming the building has never been the Aspire Academy or used for education
and had operated for the last 25 years until recently purely as your own IT centre.
Councillor Mrs June Slaughter MBE also raised concerns about the accuracy of the site's historical use, alongside worries about noise and parking.
The new centre aims to offer flexible use, with all spaces potentially interchangeable for church, education, or training purposes. The church use is indicatively planned for the existing computer suite, storeroom, and meeting rooms on the ground floor, along with several rooms on the first floor for smaller group meetings and faith-based activities. Services are planned for Sunday mornings (around 10:00) and afternoons (around 15:00), with one midweek evening service on Wednesdays (around 18:00). The church use is anticipated to generate between 50 and 80 visitors per week.
Educational and training rooms are indicatively planned for several rooms on both the ground and first floors, operating during standard business hours (09:00 – 17:00). The ancillary cafe is expected to employ 1-2 staff members and operate during daytime hours (approximately 10:00–15:00). Room hire for community events could accommodate between 21 and 31 individuals.
Concerns regarding parking were raised by a local resident, who stated that only five usable spaces exist and that several bays directly encroach on space protected under an existing lease and used daily by community services. They also noted a hazard at the front of the property where a space cannot be used due to it being a two-way access. The Highway Authority Officer responded that while the predicted number of vehicles may exceed the parking provision, potential overspill could be safely accommodated on the highway without safety concerns. The drawings were reviewed and the Highway Authority raised no concerns about the layout. It was also noted that any loss of parking shown on the plans would be minimal.
Despite these concerns, the application was approved, seen as a positive step in bringing the building back into use. The committee also heard that management arrangements for the car park could be addressed independently of the planning process. Councillor Slaughter's specific concerns about parking were noted, and the Chair suggested that further correspondence could be directed to him to find a solution.
Further details on the meeting and decisions can be found in the Public reports pack and Decisions documents from the Agenda frontsheet for the Planning Committee meeting on 23 July 2026.
